Baiting

Richard Brown

commented on a video on YouTube.

Shared publicly – Mar 29, 2014

His flashing of the high beams the way he was would not be considered normal operation of the vehicle. Not to mention the fact that in many states with DUI checks, this act is considered illegal as it warns other drivers and potential violators that there are officers ahead.
Any observable defect in the motor vehicle’s required light or signal equipment is reasonable grounds to stop the vehicle for inspection and/or citation. Any observed erratic or suspicious behavior of the vehicle would also be considered reasonable grounds for the officer to stop and investigate the cause.
Any vehicle that approaches a group of officers while flashing it’s lights in the manner described would in fact attract the attention of those officers for the reasons described above.
Although many cars operate with the lights on during daytime, flashing them off and on as the vehicle approached would indicate to the officers that the driver was requesting assistance and may not be in full control of the vehicle.
The person filming the video made it clear that his intent was to attract the attention of those officers. His knowledge of their location, their procedures, and the behaviors that he would perform to elicit the response he expected, were all pre-meditated. To act as if he were innocent and being harassed.
He wasn’t.
This guy is simply trying to engage the officers in a manufactured situation designed to interfere with their normal duties. This waste of the officers time and resources would aggravate and annoy anyone, much less public safety officers.who had realized they had been manipulated in that way.
He is lucky that he did not try this in my state. If he had, at the very least he would have been cited for distracted driving, interference with the performance of an officer’s duties, or criminal intent to influence the conduct of an officer.
This guy was wrong on every level and should be viewed as such.